Electoral observers tasked with identifying illegal family voting have been instructed to show “sensitivity” towards different “cultures and customs” while carrying out their duties.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed they are reviewing allegations of electoral misconduct following Thursday’s Gorton and Denton by-election, after accredited monitors reported what they described as “concerningly high levels” of family voting.
The practice – which can involve husbands directing their wives’ votes – was made a criminal offence under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage referred the reports to Greater Manchester Police and the Electoral Commission on Friday, raising concerns about electoral integrity in “predominantly Muslim areas”.
Electoral observers – whose role is to ensure elections are “transparent, accessible, impartial and secure” – are bound by a code of conduct when accepting their accreditation, The Telegraph has revealed.
The mandatory code of conduct was published by the Electoral Commission in 2018.
It reads: “Observers must maintain proper personal behaviour and respect others, including exhibiting sensitivity for United Kingdom cultures and customs, exercise sound judgment in personal interactions and observe the highest level of professional conduct at all times.”
Observers, who operate independently of council-employed polling staff, can flag “irregularities, fraud or significant problems” but have no power to intervene directly.
Election observers have been told to show ‘sensitivity’ to different ‘cultures and customs’ in Britain
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Concerns must be raised in a “non-obstructive manner” to avoid disrupting proceedings.
Democracy Volunteers, an observer group accredited by the Electoral Commission, recorded 32 separate instances of family voting across 15 of the 22 polling stations it monitored across Gorton and Denton.
The Green Party won the by-election with 40.7 per cent of the vote, overturning a 13,000-strong Labour majority and pushing Sir Keir Starmer’s party into third place.
Lord Hayward, the Conservative peer who introduced the legislation criminalising family voting in 2023 through a Private Member’s Bill, said the system had clearly “gone wrong in a substantial way”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage referred the reports to Greater Manchester Police and the Electoral Commission
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The Green Party won the Gorton and Denton by-election with 40.7 per cent of the vote
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GETTYHe expressed frustration that the law – which criminalised accompanying voters into polling booths or positioning oneself nearby to influence their decision – had not been properly enforced.
The Conservative Party has written to the Electoral Commission demanding a full inquiry into the alleged breaches and the council’s handling of them.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour’s defeat reflected what she described as the party previously “harvesting” the Muslim vote, which she claimed had “came back to bite them”.
Shadow Communities Secretary Sir James Cleverly said any practice allowing husbands to dictate their wives’ votes was “an insult to the hard-fought liberty of female suffrage”.
Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of previously ‘harvesting’ the Muslim vote
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PAHe added: “The rights of all British voters across class, colour and creed must be defended. The law must be applied equally and fairly to everyone.”
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman confirmed the force was “in the process of reviewing this report and will provide a further update in due course”.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Electoral Commission said: “We take allegations of family voting very seriously. It is a criminal offence to attempt to pressure someone to vote in a certain way.
“We encourage anyone who believes an offence has occurred to report it to the police.
“We are in close contact with the returning officer and Greater Manchester Police to speedily and carefully review the concerns that have been raised.
“We have received letters from Nigel Farage MP and Sir James Cleverly MP. We have replied, and will carefully consider the points raised.”